You’re Being Sold a Dying Dream
The traditional, analog brokerage creates (and sells the dream of) teams as a recruiting tool and retention solution. The poor, ambitious agents getting council are normally seeking out a leverage strategy. Instead, they come out with a mission to secretly grow the brokerage for the broker, manage the agents, lead generate at a higher level to drive more transactions to the bookkeeper – all packaged as a road map to leverage.
Now, at this point, you’re a happy team member or team leader saying, “Fuck this guy writing this”. Hang on for me. Quick note: my real estate organization closed 27,000 transactions last year. I know the rock in your shoe and will guide you in ten minutes on how to remove it – if you can just be honest that there is some pain here. Which, I suspect if you clicked on this post.
The Team Growth Paradox
Onward… So the team leader develops agents, trains, supports, provides a niche value proposition and the team excels. Like all certified (or certifiable) Realtors, you see the posts on social that, “We sold $100m this year…” Good leadership team leads, I have a soft spot for you.
Then, typically on a Monday, your top agent tells you that they had some dialogue back home over the weekend and the margin that you are making on them is at the expense of their present and future opportunities. But, they wouldn’t have performed without your leads, tactical lessons and push, right? It’s not fair. Well, true. They are also right. Your agents are getting paid half or three quarters of a deal that they now often source means that they have to work 2X as hard. They learned from the best (that’s you), their CMA, their network and all around strong relationships can lead to at least half the business, and if you’re paying them 50/50, they could make the same money and work half as hard. It’s hard to heard. And you’re both right.
So, you bring in another newbie and it happens again. Eventually, you’re having a drink at a dark restaurant at 12:30 in the afternoon and you realize that the talent that left you is a stronger list than the current line up.
If you were at my brokerage, these talented generals would have left the team and stayed in your organization. No break up, no professional drama, just a graduation from a team member to an emerging team leader in your org and you are still the mentor. You still profit and if that agent kills it, you both profit long-term and, most importantly, together.
Quick Analogy
Please indulge me: Imagine when your son turns 18 and moves out, as great parents build independent adults. Once they move out, if life mirrored your franchise brokerage, you would have to say, “You’re not invited back!” The way my platform works, you would say go build and live and come back for hugs as much as possible. Which scenario sounds better to you?
Scaling and Compounding Requires an Act of Congress
We occupy 16 countries in my organization and my US agents pay one national cap. No territories, no solid lines on a map, no conflict between franchisees – none of it. If you want to stay non-diverse, sell your whole life in 3 zip codes.
But at my organization, when FL tanks, London is strong and when Greenville, SC explodes, Nebraska is stable. One must be able to scale and compound with ZERO cost acquisition, zero red tape and the relationships drive the business without blockades. I’m have access to over 700 MLS and can be a HUB for referrals going in every direction. This is crucial! The way I define a team is when leads are issued as part of the value proposition. Independents often times disguised as big, lost teams typically offer office space and support, but not leads. That leads me into the last segment…
Team Leaders Become Lead Generators and Get Stuck in the Hamster Wheel
You were the best field cop on the force and you loved the dopamine hits and action. Because you were so good, you were promoted to a desk job and now you feel the endless pressure of being a lead generator. Ugh. Welcome to cold, hard, un-fun sales! You went in it for the real estate, the people, the freedom and now you’ve been sold the burden of feeding what is supposed to be something you were leveraging.
I’m closing in on the solution, thanks for hanging in…
The FUTURE, the success, the cathartic and transformational experience all lives in one decision.
- You build a team with a reduced cap and full cap for the high frequency players.
- You graduate these ICONS to become team leaders.
- Everyone gets paid better so you attract better talent and don’t lose the cream of the crop, they just simply graduate.
Developing talent is more lucrative than suppressing it folks. If you care about yourself and your people, start critically thinking and become curious once again. There are finally solutions for ongoing problems we experience at the top of the industry, lean into them.
If any of this sounds interesting to you, email hello@richtomasini.com for more info.